What is POPS (Proactive care for Older People undergoing Surgery) and how have things gone since this service was introduced to Guy's and St Thomas's back in 2004? How does the team apply the techniques of this programme to the perioperative pathway of a patient? Would a service like this be useful at your practice? Can your institution accommodate a fully comprehensive geriatric assessment and optimisation process?

Furthermore, should a programme like this be rolled out across the UK and could anything similar be considered in the US?

How does having a POPS team facilitate specialist education at the institution? What other opportunities are there for patients and staff as a result of innovations such as this?

Also - what are the drugs that anaesthetists commonly prescribe to patients which people who work on this side of the service aren't so keen on? What are the advantages of being able to safely discharge frail patients who may instead have ended up back in the hospital system?

How do we get undergraduates to learn the skills which simple demographics show are going to become more and more crucial as the trend towards a longer life span continues in the Western world? The Guy's and St Thomas's POPS team offer a fellowship, the final part of this Sunday Special covers both that and the wider issue of getting students and younger practitioners into this growing area of health care.

Desiree Chappell presents, with additional questions thrown in by Monty Mythen, as they speak with their guests; Magda Sbai, specialist registrar at Guy's and St Thomas's, Jason Cross, advanced nurse practitioner and Nursing lead for the POPS team, Claire Gallagher, Deputy clinical nurse specialist, Dr Judith Partridge, consultant geriatricians at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in London and Dr Jugdeep Dhesi, Clinical Lead, POPS and Consultant Geriatrician, Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust.